The two highlights of dying 2014 were Ebola and Boko Haram, none of which was pleasant to Nigerians. Whereas the good structure of Lagos health services fought Ebola, Boko Haram has been invincible because there is no comprehensible strategy for its containment. It defies the state and creates parallel governments as it claims more territories.…
Cyprian Ekwensi and the Banana Paradox
Banana or plantain (which some refer to as Dodo when it is fried) is a favorite staple food in Africa and beyond, and also the subject of a musical racial parody by Afro beat King Fela Kuti in the song, “Monkey Give me Banana.” It is however noteworthy that Cyprian Ekwensi, one of Africa’s most…
Economy: Nigeria Skirting The Circle
How I wished Tayo Akpata, Sam G. Ikoku, Bola Ige, Erhunse Bankole Akpata, Tunji Otegbeye and other departed Nigerian thinkers were alive today to see how the cooks of neo-colonial politics have spoilt the broth. I do not envy Allison, Ayida, Phillip Asiodu, Olufemi Okunnu, Mohammed Dikko Yusufu, Mohammed Ayagi, Balarabe Musa and others who…
Not Yet a Clear Path to Recovery
It was Nnamdi Azikiwe who said on television on his return to Nigeria during the civil war that no one used Sunday-School language to deal with a scoundrel. In fact, if a government resorts to arm-twisting and suppression to treat political matters, it invites equal physical resistance from the oppressed, because the law of changeless…
Why Obama Is Right on Immigration Reform
I signed on this week (in a letter to Congress) seeking support for President Barack Obama’s effort to reform a flawed Immigration system, because it is the right thing to do. I also indicated my support for Obama’s immigration reform in a separate correspondence with his Organizing for Action (OFA) grassroots movement, where I specifically…
Jega Can’t Stop This Army
“My vote must count,” echoed an angry elderly man driven to hysteria by Attahiru Jega’s disenfranchisement of millions of Lagosians. As he spoke at the verification and registration centre at St. Kizito School, Iju Ishaga, hundreds of disenfranchised others joined and changed it into a song. As they chanted their resolve to challenge INEC, the…
Super Eagles: A Big Loss For All
As we begin to come to terms with the Super Eagles’ elimination from next year’s AFCON Finals in Equatorial Guinea, it’s important to focus on the effects this would have on businesses and their sponsors. The Super Eagles are undoubtedly the NO.1 sports brand in Nigeria, followed by the English Premier League. Now, with no…
California Governor Appoints Another Nigerian-American
In the period he has served as California Governor, especially since 2011, Edmund Gerald ‘Pat’ Brown has done more to promote the cause of women and newer Americans than any governor of the Golden State. Nigerian-Americans especially laud him for last year’s appointment of Bunmi Awoniyi, as the first African-American of Nigerian descent to sit…
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